


Interdimensional Etiquette (or, The Queen in the Library)

by Dendritic_Trees



Category: Downton Abbey, Old Kingdom - Garth Nix
Genre: Accidents and Disasters, Alternate Universe - Old Kingdom, Diplomacy, Gen, comedy of manners
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-05-05 13:16:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14619341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dendritic_Trees/pseuds/Dendritic_Trees
Summary: Lirael, anticipating meals with a normal number of forks, agrees to go on a trip through Ancelstierre with Nick.The Crawleys, anticipating a pleasant visit from two young gentlemen, invite Nicholas Sayre and the Abhorsen-in-Waiting to stay on their trip.





	1. Carson

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place before, and displaces The Creature in the Case, as a Nick/Lirael reunion.

“I’m sorry, you’re going to have to explain this to me again,” huffed the Dowager Countess, “I simply cannot understand.”

“I think you’ll find, Mama, that you simply do not wish to understand. Its quite straightforward. The Chief Minister’s nephew, Nicholas Sayre, is escorting the Abhorsen-in-Waiting, someone called, actually, I’m not quite sure how to say it - Lireel, or Lirael I think, from the spelling, around the country on a sort of, semi-official visit, so I’ve invited them to stay. It seemed like the least we could do to help repair the damage after that dreadful business in Corvere,” explained Lord Grantham.

“I utterly fail to see the connection between a lot of populist rabble-rousers blowing things up in the capital, and you’re entertaining some sort of - Northern barbarian, in this house.” The Dowager Countess said.

“What precisely is an ‘Abhorsen-in-Waiting’?” Lady Mary asked, “it sounds terribly odd.”

“The Abhorsen is something to do with their religion, I think, like a sort of Archbishop” Mr. Crawley said, before Lord Grantham could, “so the Abhorsen-in-Waiting would be some sort of heir to the position I assume.”

Lord Grantham opened his mouth as if to correct him, but shut it again without saying anything.

“Well, I’m certain they’ll make for an interesting houseguest,” Lady Mary.

“Oh I’m sure it will be quite straight forward,” said Lord Grantham, “we’ll hold a dinner or two, show them the house and the estate, nothing unusual.”

“Well I think it’ll be terribly exciting, to have a visitor from the Old Kingdom,” said Lady Sybil, “they’ll probably have marvellous stories, about adventures, and magic.”

“Oh do stop being silly Sybil,” said Lady Edith, “you’re too old to believe in all that nonsense. Its made up. They’re not going to be any different from any other diplomat. It will probably be quite dull.”

“Well,” said her Ladyship, “I’m sure it will be nice to entertain a pair of young men.”

Although he was standing across the drawing room, Mr. Carson thought her smile looked slightly forced, as she said it.

“Are they going to be two men though?” Lady Sybil asked, “Queen Sabriel is the Abhorsen now, and she’s a woman, so the Abhorsen-in-Waiting might be a woman as well.”

“Yes, but the country was in chaos when King Touchstone and Queen Sabriel took power,” Lord Grantham explained, “they hadn’t had a real monarch in two hundred years, or even a regency in twenty. But things are more settled there now, so I suspect things will have gone back to normal and the Abhorsen-in-Waiting will be a young man. Besides, he apparently fought at Fortwin’s Mill. Its one of the reasons the Chief Minister is so eager to make him welcome.”

Lady Sybil looked a little crestfallen.


	2. Anna

Mr. Carson kept them all before dinner to announce that the Chief Minister’s nephew and an Old Kingdom diplomat would be coming to stay, which, to Anna’s mind, just predisposed them to all take it badly.

“Well,” said Mrs. Patmore, “I just hope that this turns out better than the last time we had a foreign diplomat to stay.”

“Oh,” gasped Daisy, “you don’t think he’ll die like Mr. Pamuk will he?”

“Don’t be so silly,” said Mrs. Patmore, “I was making a joke. Come and help me with this and stop worrying over nothing.”

“Well I don’t have any interest in having some foreign shaman in the house,” said Ms. O’Brien, which was just typical.

“Oh shut up,” said Thomas, which wasn’t.

He said it, right at the same time as Mr. Bates said, “please show some respect.”

The two of them stopped dead and stared at each other, Thomas in total horror, Mr. Bates in mild surprise.

“The Abhorsen isn’t a religious position,” Mr. Bates continued, mildly, in the silence that followed, “I don’t know who told Mr. Carson that. They’re a Charter Mage, and a Necromancer. And I should probably warn him, the Old Kingdom doesn’t have as many rules about what women can and can’t do. There’s every chance the new Abhorsen-in-Waiting is a woman.”

“But Mr. Carson said he was a soldier,” William said, “it doesn’t seem very likely, a woman soldier.”

Mr. Bates gave him a considering look, and took a drink of tea before he answered, “I wouldn’t say that,” he said, “I fought alongside Queen Sabriel and the students of Wyverly at the Wall, and they were as brave as any of the men. Braver, probably. We’d come there expecting to fight, and they hadn’t, after all.”

Mr. Bates was usually so reticent about his time in the army, that she’d somehow expected there to be a bit more fanfare when he did. But everyone but her was much more interested in hearing about the foreign queen than Mr. Bates.

“I heard that she’s a sorcerer, like a witch-queen,” said Daisy, looking a bit awestruck.

“She’s a Charter Mage. Its much more civilized,” said Mr. Bates, “I promise. Besides, Queen Sabriel grew up in Ancelstierre. She’s just as well bred as any Ancelstierran with a title.”

Miss O’Brien snorted.

“Were you a Charter mage, in the army?” Daisy asked.

“No. You’d be able to tell. Charter mages carry a Charter Mark. Right here,” said Mr. Bates, he pressed two fingers into his forehead, just above the bridge of his nose, “and you can see them, even this far south.”

“Well that’s all well and good Mr. Bates,” Mrs. Hughes cut in, “but we aren’t going to be entertaining Queen Sabriel, are we? Its this, Lirael, that’s coming. I don’t suppose you know anything about him, do you. Because it would make our lives every so much easier if you did.”

“I’m afraid not, Mrs. Hughes,” replied Mr. Bates, “the last I’d heard it was Sabriel’s son, Prince Sameth who was going to be the next Abhorsen.”

“Well you can say what you like,” said Mis O’Brien, “but I’m still not waiting on some northerner who’s no better than the likes of us.”

“Except they actually are better than you,” said Thomas.

O’Brien glared daggers at Thomas, who just raised an eyebrow. It looked like the beginnings of a really spectacular argument but Mrs. Hughes cut them both off with a short, “seeing as you don’t typically wait on guests anyway, Miss O’Brien, I’ll thank you to keepyou entirely unasked for opinions about His Lordship’s guests to yourself.”


End file.
